ExxonMobil is continuing cleanup operations after an oil pipeline spilled thousands of barrels of Canadian crude in Arkansas. The spill has led many to speak out against oil sands exploitation and the construction of Keystone XL pipeline.

Exxon's Pegasus pipeline – which can carry more than 90,000
barrels of Canadian Heavy crude oil per day from Patoka,
Illinois, to Nederland, Texas – was shut down after the leak was
discovered on Friday in a suburban area near the town of
Mayflower, Arkansas.

Shocking amateur video recorded by a resident that went viral,
showing the immediate aftermath of the spill as streets flooded
and oil burst forth:

"The smell is quite horrendous both outside and inside our
home. There is a strong smell of oil in our vehicles, as
well,"resident Chris Harrell told RT.

Twenty-two homes have been evacuated so far, and more are
expected. "Excavation is necessary as part of an
investigation to determine the cause of the incident," Exxon
spokesperson Alan Jeffers told Reuters.

The accident has left evacuated residents seeking shelter
elsewhere. "Basically if it doesn't fit in our car we don't
have it right now," local resident Ryan Senia said. He had
previously listed his home for sale, but said the spill has
forced him to take it off the market.

The spill totaled upwards of 10,000 barrels, according to an
ExxonMobil press release. So far, about 12,000 barrels of oil and
water have reportedly been recovered. The company has deployed 15
vacuum trucks, 33 storage tanks and 120 workers to the cleanup
site.

"There are literally hundreds of cleanup crew people in our
area...no one has a definite time frame on how long they will be
here, but some people are saying months," Harrell said.

A 3,600-foot boom was also installed near Lake Conway, and an
approximately 51-centimeter pipeline was shut down to prevent the
spilled oil from reaching the water. So far, no oil has reached
the lake.

The cause of the spill is being investigated, and cleanup
operations are being coordinated with the Department of Emergency
Management and other local authorities.

The Heavy Crude that the Pegasus Pipeline was carrying at the
time needs to be blended with lighter oils or natural gas liquids
in order to flow through, and some environmentalists suspect that
this type of oil sand crude is more corrosive to pipelines. Exxon
was fined in 2010 for not inspecting another portion of the
Pegasus line with sufficient frequency.

Meanwhile, the community is anxious to see how the oil giant
plans to handle the situation: "The major concern for many
people in our neighborhood is the long-term impact, both
environmentally and financially. For example, what is this going
to do to our property values?" Harrell said. He added that
many local residents are angry, and were not aware that the
pipeline ran through the area.

Richard Steiner, an environmental consultant for Oasis Earth,
spoke with RT Monday to describe the ecological and possible
political ramifications of the Arkansas oil spill. He blamed a
lack of responsibility among US safety regulators who allowed the
Pegasus pipeline to remain in operation for over 50 years.

"There’s no excuse whatsoever for oil pipelines to be
anything over 30 years old,” he said. “Their general
design life is maybe 20-30 years old. The federal administration
within the Department of Transportation in the US – the pipeline
and hazardous material safety administration – isn’t doing its
job. Nor is industry. There’s a general complacency within
industry and government that says, ‘Look, don’t worry we’ve got
this. You should just be happy. We know how to do this work. Stay
out of our business.’ But this happens time and time and time and
again. It just goes to show you people make mistakes."

Local media reported that journalists were barred from entering
the site for over 30 hours following the disaster.

Keystone Pipeline

The leak comes amid growing opposition to the controversial
Keystone XL project, which would see an oil pipeline run across
the US Midwest. TransCanada Corp.'s plan to pipe Alberta oil
sands to the US Gulf Coast has been met with criticism over the
possible environmental impact.

The project has been embroiled in ongoing controversy. Project
supporters have worked to persuade the US to approve the
$7-billion project, arguing that the Keystone XL would create
thousands of new jobs and free the country from energy dependence
on South American exporters such as Venezuela.

Though, according to Christopher Williams, an environmental
activist and professor at Pace University who spoke with RT on
Monday , Keystone has "nothing to do with reducing gasoline
costs in the United States -- most of that oil is to be exported,
it's not for US consumption. So, this is very much a bonanza for
the oil companies, and a disaster for North Americans."

Environmentalists have expressed concerns over the pollution
risks inherent to the controversial tar sands method of oil
production. Even the US State Department admits the Keystone
project will create "numerous" and
"substantial" impacts on the environment.

In a March draft environmental impact statement, the US said that
the Canadian synthetic crude oil the pipeline is slated to
transport into the US produces 17 per cent more greenhouse gases
than natural crude oil already refined there. It also said that
the construction phase of the project would result in carbon
dioxide emissions equivalent to about 626,000 passenger vehicles
operating for one year.

The report also said the pipeline could disturb highly erodible
soil, degrade streams, encroach on habitats of federally
protected species, and be susceptible to potentially disastrous
leaks and spills.

But despite its environmental toll, the US says the Keystone
pipeline it is still a better option than proposed alternatives
which are “not reasonable.”

President Barack Obama will have the final say on the project,
which has been pending for more than four years, as environmental
activists battle to kill it.

Last week, the US Department of Transportation fined ExxonMobil
Corporation $1.7 million over pipeline safety violations in the
2011 Yellowstone River oil spill. The claim alleged that the
company did not respond quickly enough, and that there was a
“known threat,” according to the US Pipeline Safety
Administration. The spill leaked about 63,000 gallons of crude
oil into the Montana River, and caused massive flooding.